December 4, 2008 [LINK / comment]
In Minneapolis, the temperatures are plunging into the single digits, which means that the pace of construction at Target Field will slow down for the next few months. (The work will be confined to interior spaces, mostly.) Overall, the project remains on schedule, with nearly all of the concrete work being completed, and the Twins hope to start playing there in April 2010. Several artistic design features have yet to be decided upon, including the pedestrian bridge that will connect Target Field to downtown. One feature noted by MLB.com sounds like a great idea to me:
The gate on Target Plaza, with turnstiles built into it for entry into ballpark, will be movable. When the Twins aren't playing, the gate will swing around and the outfield concourse will become part of the city sidewalk system -- meaning that fans can walk right up to the ballpark and through the concourses in the outfield to reach the trains.
That ought to get a lot more people interested in seeing a ball game there.
On Long Island, meanwhile, progress on dismantling Shea Stadium is dragging along at a snail's pace, causing some people to worry that the wrecking crews will still be there when the Mets begin playing at Citi Field next April. That would be a depressing sight to behold. There's been much discussion of what is holding things up at baseball-fever.com, and some wise guy says he wants the Mets to ditch the whole Citi Field project and keep playing at Shea indefinitely. (???)